1. Field of the Invention
This present invention relates to an illuminating textile article. Moreover, in particular, the illuminating textile article according to the invention is a textile article incorporating with LEDs (light-emitting diode), can be served as a product as requirement, and can be served as a textile yarn for another textile article.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Nowadays, light-emitting diodes have been used for a wide variety of applications, e.g., indication, display, illumination, etc. Combination of apparatuses and light-emitting diodes has been formerly practiced on electronic equipments with indicators, traffic lights, lighting fixtures, street lamps, and gradually emerged in textile such as clothing.
One of current approaches regarding textile articles incorporating with light-emitting diodes is first to bond light-emitting diodes on a flexible printed circuit board, and then to attach the flexible printed circuit board with fixed light-emitting diodes to a textile article. Obviously, the flexible printed circuit board utilized in the aforesaid approach can not be excessively bent or stretched due to its limited flexibility. Therefore, in order to retain somewhat flexibility for such textile articles, aforesaid approach mostly utilizes flexible printed circuit boards with smaller area. Nevertheless, the textile articles of the aforesaid approach can not get aesthetically pleasing design and wearing comfort like general textile articles, and therefore, they are difficult for consumers to accept. Besides, if using flexible printed circuit boards with larger area, the aforesaid approach would result in that weight and thickness of finished textile articles are increased and the flexible printed circuit boards with fixed light-emitting diodes are more difficult to be integrated with general textile articles into aesthetically pleasing designs. Furthermore, if changing layout of light-emitting diodes, the aforesaid approach must consume much time and cost to design the flexible printed circuit board renewedly. Furthermore, the manufacture of flexible printed circuit board used in the aforesaid approach is heavy pollution process and harm to environment.
Another prior art is to fix optical fibers or flexible light-conducting tubes, whose surfaces are capable of leaking entered light out, on general textile articles in an attaching way or a textile way. Light emitted by light-emitting diodes enters into those optical fibers or flexible light-conducting from one end of those optical fibers or flexible light-conducting tubes, and is leaked out from the surfaces of those optical fibers or flexible light-conducting tubes. Due to poor wearing comfort and softness of those optical fibers or flexible light-conducting tubes and difficulty of connecting light sources with textile articles, the prior art has much limitation in practice and process. Besides, the prior art can not approach requirements of textile articles with larger area and individual control over lighting points, and has lower illumination.